Rosamond Skypark

The Rosamond Skypark Association

The Rosamond Skypark
is a privately-owned and operated residential skypark located in
Southern California's Antelope Valley (AKA "Aerospace Valley"). Our FAA
designator is L00 (Lima-Zero-Zero) and our airport is open for public use. This website is operated by the Rosamond Skypark Association as a service to our owner/members. We also provide various items of interest to pilots and the general public.

Edwin W. Lewis Jr.
became an owner/resident at the Skypark in January of 2001.

The news that Ed had crashed during a routine flight on the
evening of November 8th, 2007, came as a shock to all who knew him.
At age 71, he had logged some 28,000 hours during his flying career.

Initially unexplained, [ Addendum:
NTSB Full Narrative ] the crash occurred while Ed,
accompanied by good friend and fellow CAP officer
Dion DeCamp, were returning from Las
Vegas to Rosamond in N-881CP, a brand-new turbocharged C-182 owned
by the CAP. Reportedly this was to be the last flight of a long day
that involved repositioning of both NASA and CAP aircraft, with as
many as eight legs flown in various planes. Weather was VFR and the
time was approximately 7:15 PM, about two hours past the end of
nautical twilight. The aircraft impacted at about the 6500 foot
level of 8,500 foot high Mount Potosi, approximately 20 miles
southwest of McCarran airport and almost exactly on a GPS direct
course from Nellis AFB (their presumed departure point) to Rosamond.

Ed is survived by his wife Midge and two sons, Eric and
Steven.

The following bio provided by NASA details the professional
life of a "pilot's pilot". He will be greatly missed.

From NASA: Prior to his untimely death in a
light plane crash in November 2007, Edwin W. Lewis Jr. served NASA
for 18 years as a research pilot at the Dryden Flight Research
Center, Edwards, Calif., and the Ames Research Center, Moffett
Field, Calif. Lewis flew a variety of research and mission support
aircraft during his 10 years at Dryden, including NASA's DC-8
airborne science laboratory, a modified Gulfstream-III, Beechcraft
B-200 King Air, Lockheed YO-3A and the Beechcraft T-34C Turbo
Mentor. He also served as Dryden's Aviation Safety Officer.

Prior to transferring to Dryden in late 1997, Lewis flew 10
different research and support aircraft at NASA Ames -- a C-130B,
the C-141A Kuiper Airborne Observatory, the DC-8, UH-1, SH-3, King
Air, Lear 24, T-38A, T-39G and YO-3A – in support of NASA research
missions. He was also project pilot for Ames’ 747 and T-38 programs.

Lewis was born in New York City and began flight training as a
Civil Air Patrol cadet in 1951, ultimately earning his commercial
pilot’s certificate in 1958. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree
in biology from Hobart College, Geneva, N.Y., and entered the U.S.
Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Following
pilot training he was assigned to Moody Air Force Base, Ga., as an
instructor pilot, for both the T-33 and T-37 aircraft. He served in
Vietnam from 1965 through 1966, where he was a forward air
controller, instructor and standardization/evaluation pilot, flying
more than 1,000 hours in the O-1 "Bird Dog."

Lewis separated from the regular Air Force and joined Pan
American World Airways and the 129th Air Commando Group, California
Air National Guard (ANG) based in Hayward, Calif. During his 18
years with the California ANG he flew the U-6, U-10, C-119, HC-130
aircraft and the HH-3 helicopter. At the time of his military
retirement with the rank of colonel, Lewis was commander of the
129th Air Rescue and Recovery Group, a composite combat rescue
group. During his 22 years as an airline pilot, he flew the Boeing
707, 727 and 747. He took early retirement from Pan American in 1989
to become a pilot with NASA.

Lewis had also been active in the Civil Air Patrol for more than
50 years, serving as the organization's California and Pacific
Region commander and national vice commander. He had also received
numerous awards during his military career, among them the
Distinguished Flying Cross.

A memorial gathering for Ed was held at Dryden on
Nov. 30, 2007. View the press clipping
HERE.

Dion DeCamp:

With Ed in the C-182 was his long-time friend Dion E. DeCamp,
a fellow CAP officer and also an extremely experienced pilot with
27,000+ logged hours. The following bio material is from the CAP's
press release:

DeCamp, 73, of Reno,
Nev., became commander of the Nevada Wing in 2003. Most recently, he
led the wing’s initial search efforts for Fossett, who disappeared
on Labor Day during a solo flight in Nevada. The search for Fossett,
who has yet to be found, was the largest in the Civil Air Patrol’s
modern-day history.

DeCamp's wife, CAP
Lt. Col. E.J. Smith, also served as search incident commander during
the Fossett mission. He is survived by adult son, Michael, and two
daughters, Kristin and Gayle.

DeCamp joined CAP in 1994. He served as Nevada
Wing director of operations, vice commander, representative to the
Nevada state SAR Board and Pacific Region director of operations
training before becoming Nevada Wing commander.

DeCamp was a CAP and USAF command pilot with more than 27,000 flight
hours. He was retired from the California Air National Guard, served
in Vietnam and flew C-130 missions worldwide. He retired, as
captain, from American Airlines in 1994